Who Will Win
by KBlove123
Summary: The fight for Katniss between Peeta and Gale. set between Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Katniss/Gale Katniss/Peeta      -language warning for later chapters
1. We Are Back

**All characters belong to Suzanne Collins**

Peeta POV

"Your cousins can hardly wait to see you!" said the woman I assumed to be Katniss's mother as she points to a group of people.

There are 5 of them and they all look about the same. I see Gale, the boy Katniss is always around. I don't remember hearing anything about them being cousins, and actually heard rumors that they were dating. I was sure that part wasn't true but I know if they were cousins that it would get around. Quick.

I see some of my friends in a group waiting for me to come over and I do. While we talk- which is mainly about what it was like there, in the arena, and about how their lives have been since I left. During our conversation I can't help but look over at Katniss. She is with her 'cousins' and her mother and sister. They aren't laughing like we are, but are just giving hugs and talking, some of the smaller kids are crying and I want to know what they are talking about and how they are all so happy and sad at the same time I mean, she just got back from the Hunger Games! Everyone here hates it. It's not just the people in the Seam, but all of us, we all hate Reaping Day and cry when one of our family members have been picked.

I am brought back to reality when one of my friends asks me why I am staring at her again and I scoff at him. I would think it was obvious when we were kissing in the Games and all, but guess he forgot or something.


	2. My New Home

**All characters are work of Suzanne Collins, not me**

We are led into a car that will take us to our new home in Victors Village. I think it's stupid since it would really only have been a 5 minute walk and ends up being a one-and a half minute ride. I am led to a house on the left side while I see Katniss lead to the second house on the right.

'Well I guess I was right, Haymitch really will be her neighbor.' I think. I almost laugh but hold it back.

"Here's your new home." Says one of the peacekeepers unenthusiastically

"Thanks" I say softly. They leave and I look inside. My family is behind me and following. They want to get a good view of the house they won't be living in. I don't do it to be rude, it's just that they have the bakery-which I will be helping with as much as I can.

I think they consider it reassurance, if they were to lose the business, they could come here until they found another place.

Mother goes upstairs after grazing the living and dining area while Dad stays and looks in the kitchen.

"Almost as good as ours." He says, looking around but referencing the oven

"Well, I don't think they expected anyone to make bread here." I joke

"Yeah. I guess so." He replies and turns back to me. Before he talks he turns his head toward the stairs. When he made sure the coast was clear, he spoke. "Listen, Son. Your mother loves that you came back but hates that SHE is here too. You know she never liked her." He says with urgency and a twinge of hostility in his voice.

"Definitely." I mutter

"Good. You need to avoid the topic whenever you talk to her, she despises her and will go on and on about how she is scum, OK. I know you love her, Son-" I take a step back

"H-how did you know?"

"I'm not stupid, I see you looking at her, the smile you have after school when you've been around her. But Son, you need to keep that fact away from your mother! Got it?"

"No doubt." I mutter. I will not talk to my mother about the love of my life that she hates, that's for sure. I didn't need him to tell me that.

Mother comes down the steps and Dad puts his arms around my back in a hug. I find it odd but go with it, after all, he won't be seeing me all the time anymore. After that mother comes up to me and tells me goodbye. They immediately leave after that and I go to pick out a room for myself. I find the room at the end of the hall the most suitable and begin to unpack.

**Reviews are greatly appreciated thank you! Makes me want to write more**


	3. Back To The Woods

Katniss POV

There's no way I could ever let Prim or mother go back to that house. It isn't that I don't like it, I do, I really do, but there are so many problems with it that before we would just learn to deal with. Now that we have a new, pristine home, I want them here. Plus, here they won't starve.

As soon as I had open the refrigerator (the first one I had ever seen in district twelve) it was filled with food. And I also have the very large amount of money to buy more if I ever do need it. It seems like hunting is of no use now… except, it is of very good use for my head.

Being in the woods brings out wonderful memories of being with Gale (who I only really see on Sundays now, the days we reserved for hunting) and being there just gives me a little serenity.

I shoot a squirrel in the eye and go to pick it up. When I am about to take out the bow, I see something walking up behind me. I can't quite tell who or what it is because of the distortion. I ready my bow and turn around quickly. To my misfortune, standing before me is a big black bear. I feel my throat tense up and I can hardly breathe. I stand as still as I can, which isn't hard since I feel like I might never move again, and avoid looking directly at it. At first it just stays there and looks at me, but then it makes a grunting noise and starts toward me.

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	4. The Bear

**Peeta POV**

Even in this big house, I feel claustrophobic and know that I need to get out of the house.

I don't know where I'll go or when I'll even try to come back, I just need to leave.

I end up walking around along the fences of district twelve. I already know that Katniss and Gale go there every day, or, well, used to go every day.

This idea brings a smirk to my face and I make no effort to conceal it. They don't get to see each other as much so I could have more time with her. I know that I need to try to win her over. She might like me, but I'm not sure, I wish she could tell me!

Just then I hear a growling from the woods. I don't know which way it came from, but I know I heard it.

**Katniss POV**

I run. I run as fast as I can towards the gate. I look back often to see if it is close enough, which it currently isn't. I regret going back so far this time, because even though I've been running for three minutes, I am still not at the gate. Plus, I'm starting to run out of breath.

Another minute and I see the gate before me. I pant as a think I only need to go a few more yards.

**Peeta POV**

I am now looking around franticly at the woods, wanting to know what the noise was. Katniss wasn't in the house and I haven't seen her around so I'm pretty sure she's in there. I scream her name in the direction of the forest but I don't hear a response. I scream again but again, nothing. Then I see her coming toward the fence, running as fast as she could.

**Katniss POV**

The wind is roaring past my ears as a near the fence. Just then, I see Peeta by the exit 'Move!' I think but he doesn't. He seems shocked at me as I am barreling through the woods. I reach the fence and duck under it but instead of stopping, I keep running, I want to get as far away from that thing as possible.

"Katniss!" I hear Peeta call after me "Stop, you can stop!" I don't listen. I want to get home and lie in my bed while I shake away the fright.

**Peeta POV**

When she doesn't stop running, I start running after her. I know she can't go far, I can tell she had been running for a while because, even though it was just an instant, I could tell she was out of breath when she ran past me. Soon the adrenaline rush would wear out, now that whatever was chasing her is gone. Even though I now take its place.

We reach the road that leads to Victors Village and she starts to slow down. Not stop and walk, but slow down just a bit.

But before I can catch her, she ran into her house and I heard the door slam shut.

When I reach the door I knock loudly, since I already know she won't answer if I am polite about this. When she doesn't answer, I knock again but this time louder and a few more times. I do this again and again for a few minutes until she finally answers the door in a huff.

"Katniss, I-" she tries to slam the door shut but I stop it with my foot. She put so much force into it that my foot started to throb in pain despite the protection of my boot. I shove open the door and enter in past her.

"What do you want?" she asked me in a raspy voice. She had been crying and screaming. It is obvious in her face since it is red and her eyes are puffy.

"What happened, Katniss?" I ask gently

"I really don't want to talk about it. Please leave."

"You know it's not that easy. I won't leave, OK."

"Well I want you to leave." She yells

"I'm not going to! I want to know what happened. I want to try to help you. You aren't going to push me away again."

"I don't need help." She says as she walks out of the room and upstairs. I follow her into the bedroom and stand at the doorway while she is on the bed, turned away.

"Katniss, please." I say gently

"Go away." She says, not yelling but not kindly. I go over to the bed and sit on the edge. I touch her shoulder and I feel her shiver even though my hand is warm.

"Katniss," I say even softer

"There was a bear-" she began "it was really big and it came out of nowhere. I felt petrified, like I would never move again."

'Well that didn't happen.' I joke in my mind. Then I dismiss the thought because I want to try and be sweet, not judgmental.

"I wanted to just creep away slowly and then run when I was out of its sight but," she paused and I felt her tense up. I rub my thumb along her shoulder and she continues "it came after me," She choked "and I had to run. It followed me and followed me for what felt like forever." She stopped as she fought back tears "I couldn't see anything but woods and I didn't know why, I knew that I couldn't have run that far from the fence but I guess I had. I was running as fast as I could but the bear was getting closer. When I finally saw the fence and I ran faster, I had to get out. Then you showed up out of nowhere and I got really scared."

"Why? Why were you scared of me?"

"Because, I didn't want to be with anyone, I just wanted to be alone and I knew then that you wouldn't. You can't leave me alone when I'm in danger." At the last part she chuckled, just a bit.

"You know I would never do that to you. I wouldn't no matter how much you don't want me to." I wait a moment before I saw the next part "I love you, Katniss." She starts crying and I embrace her. "Katniss, oh Katniss, what is it?"

"I don't want you to love me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't love you and you don't deserve that. You need someone who loves you as much as you love me." She wailed

"I don't want that. I just want you, only you."

"I don't know how I feel about you, about anyone!" it's kind of like a stab in the chest. I know that by 'anyone' she means Gale. I know that if she didn't have feelings for him she wouldn't have any trouble with liking me. I can tell it's weird for her talking about him which is another reason I don't like to.

"It'll be OK, Katniss."

"How can it be OK?" she says, turning her head towards mine

"I don't know." She scoffs and turns back around. I leave and go back to the square, I still don't want to go to my trap of a house.


	5. Confrontation

Gale is coming out of the mines, covered in coal dust. I can't help but remember some of the old interviews of the Games. I shudder at the thought of them and remind myself that I am safe, I never have to fear them again. All my family is too old to be reaped and I am unable to be picked since I am a winner.

"Gale." I holler his direction and we walk towards each other.

"What?" he asks when we are close.

"Back off." I say sternly

"What?" he repeats with more curiosity

"Leave her alone."

"Oohh! So that's what this is about. You're jealous I'll steal her from you." He states in a more uppity tone. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I immediately shrug it off. "It's OK, Mellark, you'll get over it"

"Shut up." I say coldly

"Whoa there, fella. Calm down."

"I'm not gonna calm down when Katniss says she can't love me because she has feelings for you." I am shouting now and a few people have gathered around us.

"She said that?"

"Well, not exactly… but that's not th-"

"What did she say exactly then?" he asked, his own voice growing

I take a deep breath before continuing, "She said that she didn't know how she felt about me or about anybody. I know that 'anybody' is you, pretty obvious." He looks down and it looks like he's contemplating something. "Don't you fucking dare plan anything! I will rip your head off if I find out something."

"I didn't say anything!" he said, trying to sound innocent, it doesn't work.

"I'm gonna keep a close eye on you, Gale Hawthorn." I say and stalk toward my home.

Gale POV

I feel relieved that she might, even if it is some small, remote feeling. I will find it and make it grow. I try to think of something, anything that could make this happen. I can only come up short on ideas, thinking of worse-case-scenarios of her never wanting to see me again.

I give up thinking about ten minutes after Peeta went off and head to the woods to think. I know that it's not Sunday and if I see Katniss I would probably scare the crap out of her but I don't care, I wanted to see her and if she does show up I will be so happy. I need to talk to her.

Katniss POV

I know that I need to face my fears because I can't handle always eating rich foods, I know that I need to hunt but that bear is scaring me out of my mind. I still can't get the image out of my head. It's large face just feet from mine. I swear I could feel it's breath on my face. But I can't just blow the money on food. There are more important things I need to deal with and buy.

I grab my hunting jacket and head off to the woods. When I get to the hollow log where I keep my bow and arrows I find it empty. "Crap." I mutter under my breath, I must have dropped them when it attacked me so I head off to where I, well, think I was. I know that I was near the strawberry bush because I had gotten some not too long before it happened. When I get there, I see my bow hasn't moved. I pick it up and start looking for game.

I don't know how really, but I end up going to the lake so I decided to try and catch fish. After about a half an hour and only 5 fish later, I give up trying and drop them in my bag. I turn around and see Gale standing behind me, his mouth open like he was going to say something.

"Gale!" I breathe and run towards him

**I do try to write as fast as I can but I really like when I know people like my stories. Please review because I don't feel like writing if people don't like it.**


	6. The Kiss

Gale POV

There she was, at the lake we have so often sat and discussed so many things. How so often I have just wanted to lean in and kiss her, but deciding against it because I didn't know how she would react to it. I want to tell her about how I feel, but I freeze when she gets up from fishing. It doesn't look like she's caught much though. I really want to say something, anything, but nothing seems to want to escape my lips. That's when she turns around and sees me. I must look so stupid right now, mouth open and just standing there. It looks like she is surprised but then she says, "Gale!" it makes me feel so happy in the way she said it. It was like she hadn't seen me in years. Then she ran towards me and I caught her in my arms into a big hug. I never wanted to let go, never.

After a few minutes I finally pulled away because she was hiccupping.

"Gale, I missed you so much." she rejoiced

"I missed you too. So much." I hadn't seen her since she returned from the Games, which was a few days ago. The day that she found out I was now, theoretically, related to her. "I missed you cuz." I joked and she laughed, something I hadn't heard from her in a long time.

We went on with our day doing what we would usually do, ate breakfast, gathered, and hunted. All the while I couldn't keep my eyes off of her lips. I know that Peeta would kill me, well try and kill me, if I did something, but that just makes it all the more tempting. I don't say much, I don't want to say something, like I love her, even though it's the truth. We do talk a little about the town, I avoid talking about my job in the mines or asking her about the Games, because I know that will depress her a little and she'll be vacant and won't want to talk.

We are getting up and going to the fence to the Hob, still talking, but I can't listen any longer. All I can think of is Katniss and how much I want to kiss her, right now, on this very spot. I don't know what she is saying but I know it doesn't matter anymore. I stop in my tracks and pull her to me into a deep kiss, my hands cupping her face. How long I have wanted to do that! And it feels so good. Her hands lay on my chest and she makes a weird noise. I don't know what it was or what it was for, but I stop, just in case it was for me to stop and I say,

"I had to do that. At least once." I walk away as fast as I can with the food she had given me, not splitting any because of all the food she has already. I hurry to the butchers' so that he can skin the animals and then I take them to the Hob. Greasy Sae looks at me with a funny expression on her face.

"What? You girlfriend/ cousin isn't here with you?" she asks playfully

"Trust me she isn't my girlfriend" I say, depressed. Greasy Sae knows that we aren't cousins but she still teases us about it. She also knows how I feel about Katniss because whenever I would come here alone when she was sick or something, I would be upset and not talk a lot. One of those times she asked me about why I was like that and I told her how I felt about Katniss. Ever since then she has been dropping hints to Katniss about it, but she never seems to catch on.

"What happened, Lover Boy?"

"Oh please don't call me that!" I groan

"Why?"

"That's what I heard some of the people in the Games call Mellark."

"Fine then, what happened?"

I sigh "I'm sure he's gonna find some way to win her over more than me."

"Oh come on, Gale. Give yourself some credit."

"She has had TIME with him."

"She's had even more time with you."

"Well sure but he has saved her life."

"I'm sure you did too. Do you really think she would have so much food and money without your help?"

"Yes! She's great with a bow!"

"I've seen. But she's has help from you and gets more food now. I mean, you should have seen her before you too met. She would come in here with two or three animals. Now she comes in with a full bag almost every day."

"Practice."

"That much talent doesn't come from practice, Gale. It comes from teamwork. Gale you mean more to her than you or her knows."

"I don't know, it's just that, you know."

"Gale, what happened?" I ran my hands in my hair

"I kissed her."

"When?" she asked questionably, not gossipy, like the girls in school, just like someone who wanted to know something

"I don't know, like 10 minutes ago." I say before ruffling my hair and putting my hand on the counter

"What'd she say?"

"She didn't. I left afterwards."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to know what she had to say. I was embarrassed."

"Why were you embarrassed? Word on the street is that a lot of girls would've loved to have been in Katniss' shoes." I laughed

"Yeah, well, I don't feel the way about those other girls in the way I do Katniss."

"Aww, that's cute." She smiled

"Greasy Sae!" I said louder and playfully hit her arm "I don't want to be 'cute' thank you. Look, it's getting late, I need to get home." I say and turn around as I head for the door

"Yeah, home, that's where you're going." I turn around and shoot her a dirty look which she replies with a smirk


	7. A Drink?

Peeta POV

When I see Katniss go into her house I know I need to talk to her. We haven't had a real chance to talk in a while and I need to know how she feels about me. I need to know if she loves me.

It'd been killing me since last night about what she said, about not knowing how she felt about anyone. I need to know if she knows. After 10 minutes of debating her possible love for me and whether or not I should go over there, I stalk out of the house and cross to hers. I reach the front door and knock 3 times gently on the door. When she opens it, she seems really happy.

"Hey, Peeta, come in." she chirps. I walk slowly, curious as to why she is acting this way. She is never this happy.

"H-how are you doing?" I ask

"Fantastic!" she says, throwing her arms in the air

"Katniss?"

"Wha-a-at!" she giggles. I walk over to her and feel her head, which seems to be normal, when she pushes her lips to mine.

I push her off of me. "Katniss!" her breath smelled like alcohol and it is only then that I realize the empty bottle on the counter and a half-filled one next to it. "Katniss, you've been drinking." I shake her shoulders

"I don't know what you're talking about." She giggled again

"Look, Katniss, you're drunk and you just need to lay down, OK."

"I don wanna lay down" she wined "I wanna go out."

"Katniss, listen to me, you need to sleep."

"I don wanna, you can't make me." She said, sticking her tongue out as she began to run towards the other side of the counter towards the liquor. As she picked up the bottle, I ran towards her and grabbed the bottle as fast as I could and slid it over the counter. "Pee-eta!" she groaned

"No! You need to sleep." She looked down. I thought she was going to come towards me, but instead she ran off again to the counter, grabbed the bottle, and ran outside. "Katniss!" I screamed after her. I didn't pull on my shoes and ran straight after her. "Katniss stop!"

To my surprise, she did. But then she leaned over, her hand on her stomach. "Oh no." I said quietly, quickening my pace. I was just about to reach out and grab her when she vomited on the ground

"Ugh." She groaned in disgust "What was that?"

"Come on, let's get you home and clean you up." I say, half-leading, half-carrying her home. I can't help but think of the train ride with Haymitch where this same thing happened to him.

"Bu- whad bout da mess?" she said, drunkenly pointing back

"It's OK, I clean it up later, you're more important." I say as I rub my hands on her back.

We reach her house and since I left the door open, I walk straight in.

As we are heading toward the bathroom, she leans over again. I pick her up and start running to the toilet. Cleaning a mess in the house is much harder and will leave a smell much more prudent than outside.

We reach the toilet just in time for me to let her go and start puking again. I pull her hair back and once again rub her back with my hand. When it seems like she's done, I start the shower, making sure it's not too hot or cold and let it run for a minute while I get Katniss up.

"Do you think you can get a shower on your own?" I ask

"Yea! I guess, sure, I new I can, Pee-ta." She said, poking my chest with her finger.

"I'm going to stand out here, if you need me just tell me, OK."

"Okay!" she said over dramatically, throwing her hands above her head again.

I leave and pull up a chair next to the door and just wait. I can't believe she had that much to drink. She was always talking about how she hated the slightest taste of it and that it burnt her throat. I don't even know where she got it from. I didn't see her go to Haymitch's, like he'd give up any, and she wasn't carrying anything when she went it. She definitely didn't look or walk drunk when she walked inside her home.

"Katniss?" I ask knocking on the door with the back of my knuckles.

"Who?" she responds in her now giggling tone

"Nothing" I say, only wanting to make sure she was okay.

After a few minutes, the water stopped.

"Katniss, are you done?"

"Mmhmm." She responds

"Do you have a towel?"

"I dunno." I hit my head on the wall behind me

"Can you check?"

"Where they at?"

"Under the sink." I say slightly annoyed. I know that it's not right, but I don't like the fact that she got drunk.

"Where's the sink?" she giggles

"Never mind, I'm coming in, ju-just get away from the door. You know where that is right?"

"Yep." I opened the door but I didn't look at her, I really tried and opened the drawer under the sink and pulled out a large white towel. I folded it around her and led her to her bedroom.

"Please get dressed." I say after pulling out some sweatpants, a grey t-shirt, and undergarments. I leave the room after again saying that I will be right out the door if she needed me.

When she came out, I took her to the kitchen so I could make her some food. I moved the wine bottle over to the stove near me, but towards the fridge so it wouldn't get in my way. I could still easily grab it from her if she tried to take it. I made eggs since that was the only thing I could make quick enough so she would just be quiet and eat.

While I cook, she goes on and on saying something intelligible so I just try my best to tune her out. Then, when I don't even realize it, she has come up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Katniss, no." I say, squirming her hands off of me

"I thought you wanted to! I thought you loved me!"

"Not like this, Katniss, not like this." I say and turn back to the eggs. I don't even realize what I've done until it's too late. After I turned around, Katniss grabbed the bottle and ran back to where she was, almost tripping over nothing. Before I can get to her, she takes a huge gulp and is still trying but I pull it away. I turn off the stove while she makes a noise I can't quite place, but I know it is disappointment.

"Gale!" she starts. My eyes get big in shock. I can't believe she just called me Gale. I was nothing like him and I was happy about that, I hated him. "Gale why'd you do that? It's all your fault!" she slurred

"You don't need to drink anymore."

"Not that! Why'd you kiss me? This is all your fault!" I stand there, motionless for a second. I told him to not kiss her and he did? I want to bash his head in I want to- "I don't know what to feel." She cut me off, sobbing now. I go over to her and wrap my arms around her but she pushes them off.

"Katniss, it's Peeta, not Gale, Peeta."

"It's your fault too!" she sobs even louder now "You're the one that started this whole thing with me loving you and you loving me and, and" she stops, unable to talk anymore because of how much she is crying. She buries her face in her hands and continues crying. I pick her up and she doesn't resist. I carry her up the stairs to her bedroom and lie her down on the bed. I throw the covers on top of her and sit down, brushing the hairs off her face while she starts to calm down, even though she is now hiccupping hysterically.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I'm really sorry."


	8. Hangover

Gales POV

"Bye, mom" I say, giving my mother a kiss before leaving to work in the coal mines. "Tell the kids I said bye."

"I will, love you." She responded

"Love you too." And I walk out the door. I walk to the mines, when I get there I take a deep breath of the semi-fresh air. I know it's the last one I'll get for a few hours.

I walk in and grab my pick axe. I step into the elevator and wait for the rickety thing to go down. I always get scared when I go down here. I'm afraid to have the same fate as my father, stuck down here until I die. I can hardly imagine the pain I would encounter.

The elevator stops when we reach the bottom and I step off eagerly.

"Gale," Dlane said, pointing to an unmanned wall to the right. Dlane is my supervisor, along with everyone else here. He has been working here for 30 years and was the last to escape from the explosion that killed my father. He was the last to get out because he was trying to get others out before him, then decided it was hopeless and left, just in time too. He was sent to Katniss's mother and ended up having smoke in his lungs that was barely able to be fixed. He returned to the mines as soon as he could. I honestly don't know why, but I guess he was just dedicated.

I head over to where he said and begun to swing. Time seems to go by ten times slower here and it feels like it's been years, but after 4 hours, I finally finish and head back on the elevator for the long ride up. Nothing happened today, I found a few things of coal but nothing else.

The ride seems unusually unstable and I hold on to the wall with one hand. Then it shakes violently and I hold on with both. I can't help but think of Katniss. What would I do if I died down here and lost her, more importantly, what would she do? I just kissed her yesterday and left. I left her without an explanation as to why I kissed her.

The elevator stops shaking and I calm down a little. It comes up and I step out into the much desired light I have been craving for hours. I want to go see Katniss and talk to her about the kiss.

Peeta POV

I wake up on the couch of Katniss's house and I remember that I slept over just in case she needed me. I look at the clock and see that it's 11:00. We slept in a lot, well, I did, she has an excuse. I go upstairs to check on her and find her sound asleep so I decide to make her some breakfast.

When I get done making more eggs and toast, I pour her a glass of water. I set the on the counter as I hear the floors creak. A small smile escapes my lips but I conceal it as she comes into view.

"Hey." She says groggily. Her hair is still in its braid but has bits of hair coming from all around it.

"Morin' sunshine" I say, placing a plate of cheesebuns I brought over yesterday next to her plate and she scoffs.

"Not really. I feel terrible." She says picking up a cheesebun and examining it before taking a huge chunk out of it. I chuckle, hung over or not, she always loves my cheesebuns.

I sit across from her as I take I sip from some milk I poured for myself. We eat in silence for about 5 minutes until I decide to break the silence.

"So-" we say at the same time, I laugh "You go." I say, but she never smiles

"Why'd you do it? You know, tell them you loved me."

"I did it…" I sigh "I did it because it's true." At this she looks up at me, her eyes looked only partially shocked.

"I knew it." She mumbles softly. "So that story, in the cave, that was true?"

"Yes." I take her hands "Yes, I meant every single word of it and I still do." I say, pushing a piece of hair out of her eyes and interlocking our hands once again. "Katniss I love you." She has tears straining in her eyes and I wipe them away with my thumbs.

"Peeta-" there is a knock on the door

"I'll get it." I say and remove my hands from hers, but not before placing a hand on her cheek which she pulls away from.

I reach the door and open it slightly

"I want to talk to Katniss."


	9. Why?

I punch Gale square in the jaw.

I turn around to look at Katniss, who has seemed to be oblivious to the punch, and I close the door. When I turn around, I prepare for a quick hit as well, but it doesn't come. He just stands there, hunched over, his hand on his chin.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" I ask him. When he doesn't answer, I take a step towards him. He gets up and punches me in my cheek.

"I love her!" he yells

When I get up, still holding my cheek, I say calmly, "If you loved her you wouldn't have kissed her."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because that's the reason she got drunk last night. That's the reason she kissed me last night. Don't you see how this is all your fault?"

"No, I don't. I can see how it's your fault because you announced to the world that you were in love and if you didn't she wouldn't have mixed feelings right now! Why do you even love her? You never talked to her before the Games."

"Because I- I d- I ca-"

"Exactly! You don't know why you love her, you just think they do."

"Well then why do you?"

"Because I got to know her. I got to learn what she was like, what she liked to do, what she thought of as good and bad. I practically grew up with her. I got to love her." I looked down. His story was better than mine. I fell in love with her because I heard her sing and that's it. Nothing more.

"Well sorry, but I don't think she believes in incest." With that he punches my right in my face and my nose starts bleeding. He doesn't say anything else and just goes off in the other direction.

I sit on the steps and try to stop the blood.

After a few minutes, it stops and I go inside.

"Who was that?" she asks

"Oh just Delly." I lie, keeping my face away from her

"You were out there a really long time."

"Yeah, we were just catching up. I need to use the restroom." I say and leave. I need to clean up before she sees me.

When I come out she is laying on the couch looking at the ceiling.

"Have you ever been… stuck?" she asks

"What do you mean?" I ask, sitting in a chair.

"When you have an issue, with two people"

'Me and Gale' I think

"What do you do when they both want you to go in a direction, but their opposite?"

I think. I want this to go my way, without letting her know that I know what she's talking about.

"I think… I think you should go with the person who you trust the most. The one that your heart leads you to. The one you think will make you happiest." I am looking into her beautiful grey eyes as I say this, hoping that it will persuade her more.

Her voice seems rough but she manages a, "Thanks" before closing her eyes again.

"I'm going to head back to my house. You get some rest, hopefully you'll feel better."

"'Kay" I lean over and kiss her softly on the forehead. She squirms and I can tell she is still unsure about us. I wonder if she will ever get over the other.

I head over to my home and unlock the door. It really isn't important to lock a door. There is hardly anyone who comes in Victors Village and even then, there are hardly any break-ins in twelve. When I walk in, I kick off my shoes and head upstairs. I change into pajama pants and head to bed.


	10. Tell Me

**Oh my gosh! I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while! Updating got caught up with what I had! I didn't have anything written. It took me a little to write it sorry! Anyway here it is.**

Katniss POV

When I wake up I feel a lot better, especially since yesterday when I had that hang over. I don't even know why I was actually drinking. I know that it was caused by Gale kissing me, but I wouldn't drink just because of that. Oh well, I guess that's what alcohol is supposed to do.

I head downstairs and decide to make some cereal since I haven't eaten anything for a couple of days.

I sit down at the counter and while I eat, I contemplate what happened. Maybe it was because I just didn't want a relationship with anyone. No, I do, I just am confused by who to choose. Maybe it's because it was my best friend that kissed me and I was totally unprepared.

I am done eating far too quickly but I stay there and think anyway. I can't think of any ideas so I give up and wash my bowl. Today is Sunday so Gale will be expecting me to be in the woods and I won't back out today. I want to know why he kissed me, no, I need to know why.

I get dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants. I head out to go to my old home to gather my hunting boots and jacket. The jacket belonged to my father and I swore to myself long ago that I would never lose or damage it. It was one of the last things I had to hold on to him. I could never let it go. Never.

I head off to the woods and under the non-electrified fence towards our place. It is a large rock in a place that has game crawling all around it. Plus, it is near the strawberry bush we found so long ago.

I feel the ends of my lips go up as I see him walking towards me. He already has four rabbits strung on his belt.

"Snares?" I ask

"Yeah. Guess I got a good haul today."

"Of course you did. There your snares after all." I say and he laughs and takes his seat next to me.

"So how've you been?"

"Fine. You?"

"Same."

Then we hear a sound in the bushes and immediately fall silent as to not scare it away. I raise my arrow towards the noise and bring the string to my chin. I watch the bush carefully as I wait for the thing to come out. There is another rustle and I straiten my back and perfect my aim on the bush. A rabbit jumps out and I release my arrow immediately. It falls down, my arrow pierced in its eye.

"Great job, Catnip. You still got it." Gale said

"Of course I still have it. I wouldn't dare not to. I need to know how to hunt." I look down "Well, I used to." I said quietly, hoping Gale wouldn't hear me but, of course, he did.

"Catnip," he started quietly

"No, it- it's fine" I say with my head still down "Let's just… keep going."

Gale sighed "Alright." And stood up with me.

We began walking around the forest but were only able to shoot 2 more rabbits and a squirrel. When we decided to leave, it was getting dark. We parted ways wordlessly. I went to my old home and changed into my 'fancy' clothes and shoes and then walked towards Victors Village.

'Why didn't I say anything?' I think. 'I should've said something.' I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss and I just got too nervous to say anything about it. I guess I was just hoping that he would.


	11. Please Believe Me

I could never think of what to say. It has been weeks since the kiss between me and Gale and still neither of us have said anything about it. I don't know if he has completely forgotten, but I know I haven't.

I can still feel the heat radiating off his chest, the way his lips felt against mine, and how much I loved it. No! I can't. I'm supposed to be in love with Peeta! I can't fall for Gale.

I am sitting in the woods. It is Wednesday and I am sitting, again, on our rock. I came out here to clear my head, but I realize now that whenever I come out here, I think about Gale and the kiss. I can't stop but I know this is a place of serenity that has been ruined by it. But, I keep thinking that maybe it wasn't ruined. Maybe it was made better. Maybe I'm just thinking about it the wrong way. I feel that I could feel the way he does about me, I just need to think about him more than a friend. I try my best, but I keep coming back to the fact that we have known each other for 5 years and he has never shown any sign of romance. Even when we were hugging, it wasn't romantic, it was just two people giving comfort to each other. Maybe it wasn't for him. He could've felt that there was something more. I never felt it.

"You're too stubborn." I remember Gale saying. Maybe he meant I was too stubborn to realize that he had feelings for me. I also remembered Greasy Sae saying the same thing. What- what if she knew. If she knew and they both had been trying to tell me even though I never realized it.

I stood up. I had to talk to her about it. If she did know maybe she could help me understand what to do. How to feel.

I slide under the fence and head for the Hob. When I don't even get a chance to walk in, I get a little frustrated. Not just at that, but who is keeping me from getting answers. Then I realize, I could get the answers here.

"Tell me what happened." I demand

"Catnip, I-" Gale pauses "I don't know." He says the last part sheepishly

I put my hands on his shoulders "Please tell me. It's been eating me inside and out and I- I don't think I can handle not knowing anymore."

"I really don't know, Catnip. I couldn't help it. You were just- and we- and-" he stops and looks down "I love you."

His words take me aback. I am truly stunned. He was telling me he loved me and I am breathless. I don't know what to do. My instincts tell me to run but my heart tells me to stay. I want to run. But that has always been only temporary relief. I don't think temporary will help me here.

I am whipping my head around violently. I don't know what I'm looking for, but I don't realize I am moving my body so much that Gale puts his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Katniss. I just wanted to tell you. I just didn't know how you would react." He chuckles "I guess this is why." I stop looking around and stare at him.

"Gale," my voice is soft and squeaky. Definitely not what I had wanted. "I- I can't. I'm supposed to be with Peeta."

"That's just it, Katniss, I felt horrible when you were in the Games." I shudder at the thought. "I wanted you back home with me. I should've told you sooner. I was scared that you would never want to look at me again."

"I can't, Gale. I just can't" I turn and leave, this time headed for my house.

"Katniss!" Gale yells after me. I keep running. I don't know how to deal with this. I don't know if I can do any of it. The 'love triangle', the mentoring, the dealing with the Capitol each year. I just can't.

**There will be more Peeta-Katniss next chapter! Please review I really appreciate it!**


	12. Comfort and 'I love you's'

"Katniss?" I hear someone yelling from my door. I can't make out who it is, all I can make out is that it is male and low. Gale or Peeta. There are more knocks and I pull my pillow over my head to block out the noise. It doesn't help. "Katniss, let me in."

I still don't answer then I hear the noise stop. "Thank goodness" I whisper to myself. I try and relax but get interrupted a few seconds later by the sound of feet running up the stairs. "Dammit." I think again. The noise reaches my closed door and it bursts open.

"Go away." I say gruffly, still not knowing who is currently in my room.

"Katniss? What happened?" the voice says. Now I know who it is, unmistakably, it's Peeta. He would be the only one who cared about me enough to pick my lock. Why does he even care so much? My 'love' for him is a lie while his is so real.

"Go away." I repeat

"No." he says sternly

"I don't want to talk."

"Please tell me what's wrong. You came here running and crying your eyes out." Really? I didn't even realize it until now. I can feel my eyes puffy and in slight pain. I didn't know what happened after I ran from Gale. It was all a big blur of running. "I just want to help."

"Well you can't help." I snap, even though talking might make me feel a little better, I don't feel like talking, especially not this subject, especially not with Peeta.

"What if I can?" he says, his voice still so calm no matter how I treat him. Again, how do I deserve him?

"I-" my voice stops, a lump in my throat "I don't want you to."

"Please let me. I want you to be happy, Katniss," he sits on my bed and I can tell he is looking at me even though my back is turned away. "I just want you happy."

I can feel tears forming in my eyes yet again and I don't know why. It can't be him, it can't be.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore."

"Katniss you won't hurt me."

"Yes I will." I say loudly, turning around, showing my face that the tears have now taken over. He puts one hand on my shoulder and looks me straight in the eyes. His other hand wipes away my tears. "Peeta-" I croak

"Shh. Katniss, I love you and… and Gale can't hurt me."

I choke up. How could he have known I was talking about Gale? Can he really read me that well? I start to cry more and he pulls me into a warm, comforting hug. I allow myself to sob but quickly pull out after a minute or so.

"I can't. I can't hurt you."

"No, I told you, Katniss, you can't hurt me. I won't be hurt by it. I know it's hard for you. I know that I need to let you handle it however you will."

"Why do you love me?" I ask, wiping tears staining my face. He pauses, looking like he's taken aback

"You mean the world to me." He finally says. I smile slightly even though I know I will never be able to have as much love for him as he does me.

"Why do you love me… when I don't love you back?"

"Because, because I know that, deep down, you do care for me and whether you know it or not, you show that a lot." His hand reaches for my cheek and caresses it, "Katniss, you've shown me that you care about me so many times that I can't count them. I love you, Katniss. More than you will ever know."  
>_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|<p>

_"Katniss, run! What are you doing? Run!"_

_I can feel the venom seeping through my body. I don't know where I'm going or what I am doing except running. I know that what I'm seeing can't be real because what is in front of me is oozing red. It's a body, floating in the air, being squeezed by nothing._

_"Peeta!" I don't know where the voice is coming from, all I can do is hear. I'm frozen to the spot and I can't move anything. "Peeta!" says the voice again. Now I realize that the voice is me and the body is him. I become more frantic as I try to get out of this spot but it only causes me pain to move. "Peeta!" there are now tears in my voice._

_"Katniss" Peeta says. His voice is straggled and in pain. I want to reach up and pull him from whatever is holding him up but my arms are still trapped in place._

_The red coming from his body hits my face and when I look up, the red is pouring from his mouth. Cato come from behind him with a large sword in his hands, stained with red._

_"Say bye to your lover boy, Girl on fire." Cato says right before stabbing Peeta in the chest with the sword._

_"Peeta! No!"_

_"Katniss, Katniss!" Peeta says again. But this time his voice is strong and normal "Katniss!"_

_My body isn't frozen anymore but now it's shaking franticly._

_Everything around me fades to black._

"Katniss! Wake up." I sit up in the safety of my bed and release a breath I had been holding for who knows how long because I am gasping for air when I do.

When I look beside me I see Peeta, alive and healthy.

"Peeta!" I say as I engulf him in a large hug, tears spilling out of my eyes uncontrollably. "Peeta." I say again in between sobs.

"It's okay, Katniss. It was just a nightmare. It'll be okay." He says with his hands stroking the back of my head gently.

"It was so real."

"But it wasn't, it wasn't real."

I let out a shaky breath as I calm down and stop crying. "I thought you were gone."

"I'm right here, Katniss. I will always be here for you." He places a kiss on the top of my head "Was it the Games?" I nod my head "Do you wanna talk about it?" I shake my head 'no'. "Okay."

I burrow my head in his chest, his arms still around me and mine around him.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper

"For what?"

"That I couldn't save you."

"You did save me. I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"No, I didn't save you, Cato got you. He-he stabbed you and, and I couldn't do anything." I say, crying again

"What do you mean? I'm here you helped me. I'm alive."

"No you died and I just froze."

"Was this your dream?" I shake my head 'yes' "What happened?"

"We were in the Games and I got stung with the tracker jackers. You were telling me to run and I did." He shakes his head, signaling that this actually happened "Then I was running and then you were in front of me, hanging in the air by nothing. You were bleeding really badly but I couldn't move. I couldn't move but I was calling your name. You didn't say anything and I got really worried. I kept screaming your name and trying to move but I couldn't and it hurt." I take a deep breath "Then you called my name. But- but your voice was terrible, like you were in horrible pain and it made me worry even more. Then… then you coughed up blood and Cato steeped out from behind you and told me to say goodbye and he stabbed you" I am sobbing now "He stabbed you and I couldn't do anything about it."

He pulled me into a deeper embrace "It was just a nightmare it didn't happen."

I can feel myself falling into sleep and I let myself give in. I can feel Peetas' hands on my back and head.

"I love you." Is the last thing I say before falling asleep.


End file.
